


Silence me on this Subject Forever

by oui_oui_mon_ami



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, There's a party, alexander's mouth runs away with him, and people get drunk, forgive me lin, i guess everything's normal then??, ie lafayette gets drunk and starts shipping alexander and thomas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 13:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10022609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oui_oui_mon_ami/pseuds/oui_oui_mon_ami
Summary: Lafayette thinks that Alexander spends too much time in their shared room so drags him to a college party hosted by a classmate of his. Little does he know that Alexander left his verbal filter back in their room (if he ever had one of those).





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is based off a prompt I found on tumblr that went something along the lines of "My friend dragged me to a party then abandoned me then you start talking to me and I rant about how I don't want to be here etc etc then my friend comes back and introduces you as the host of this party ie the party I've just spent the last ten minutes cOMPLAINING ABOUT" so thanks to whoever gave me that idea of writing about the founding fathers at a college party
> 
> The title is from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen bc everyone's a literature nerd here

Alexander was not having a good time.

In fact, that was the understatement of the year. Alexander hated these parties, where people would simply get wasted and have a few hours of a good time, only to pay for it the next morning. But Lafayette thought that it would be a good idea to drag him kicking and screaming from their dorm so that he could get some fresh air. Laf said that he knew the host and that there would definitely be “excellent drinks” and “good music”.

So far, Alexander had found neither. And he could no longer find Lafayette among the people who had gathered around him, swaying tipsily to the electronic trash that was playing through the expensive-looking speakers in the living room. It was too early for anyone to be completely drunk yet, but people were certainly getting close. Alex sighed, exasperated, and made his way to the edge of the room where he could hide until Lafayette came to find him. If his friend wasn’t too drunk by then.

There was a bookshelf running along the wall behind him, and Alexander ran his fingers across the leather of each book, admiring the dents where gold lettering had been engraved into the spines. A collection of old, beautiful books like these probably cost more than what Alexander earned in a year. He gently pulled out a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ , with a cover of soft brown leather and yellowed pages that had been well-thumbed, and flicked to a random page, beginning to read. The obnoxious, slurring conversations and thick vibrations of music faded away as Alexander landed in a world of soft classical music, pale colours and polite gestures. _I was born in the wrong era_ , he thought to himself, causing a small smile to find its way onto his lips.

“I see that you’re finding the company of fictional characters to be more pleasurable than the characters in this room,” a deep voice said, jerking Alexander from the novella.

Alexander looked up from the book at the tall, dark-skinned young man standing before him. He was wearing a large magenta sweatshirt and a pair of black skinny jeans that Alexander tried not to stare too long at. His hair was wild and curly, like a mop on his head, but it had a bounciness to it that made it much more attractive than a mop. Alexander kind of wanted to run his fingers through it, although that would be weird, he had only just met this guy. He searched the man’s face for any traces of drunkenness – he really didn’t want to deal with some wasted guy hitting on him for some sick kind of fun – but his eyes were bright with intelligence and amusement, not alcohol. His eyebrow was raised in confusion, and it took Alexander a moment to realise that he was expecting a reply.

“Well, the people here don’t exactly make excellent conversation partners,” he responded.

The man snorted. “You can say that again,” he said. “They’re practically entranced by alcohol and electronic music. They’ll follow wherever those two things go like a group of flies.”

Alexander shuddered, pushing that image out of his mind quickly. “You don’t drink?” he asked, realising that there was an absence of red solo cups from the man’s hands.

He shook his head. “Not tonight,” he said. “I prefer something a little more… tasteful than flavoured vodka. You?”

“I’m not really inclined to tonight. Not when there are so many people around. I prefer to do my drinking in private, or at least in a bar where it doesn’t feel as… claustrophobic.”

The man nodded vigorously. “That’s it! It just feels so full in here, so hot and stuffy, it’s difficult to breathe at times.” Alexander grinned, happy that he had found someone here with a little sense. “What are you reading, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Alexander tilted the book so that the man could read the title engraved in gold on the spine. “ _Pride and Prejudice_ ,” he replied.

The man chuckled. “I wouldn’t take you for a fan of romance novels.”

Alexander felt himself blushing slightly out of embarrassment. “It’s a guilty pleasure,” he admitted. “Especially Jane Austen. She writes with such humour and… _realness_ that you can relate to her characters even in the twenty-first century.”

The man nodded again. “I can relate so much to Mr Darcy. I don’t like talking to people I don’t know-”

“You seemed to strike up a conversation with me pretty easily,” Alexander reasoned, smirking.

“You just seemed approachable,” the man replied. Alexander tried to hide a blush threatening to bloom across his cheeks. “Anyway, as I was saying, I’m kinda shy when it comes to strangers-”

“You don’t look it,” Alexander said, remembering the amused smirk that had met him when the man had first spoken to him.

“Could you stop interrupting me for just a second?” the man sighed, but there was a joking tone that signalled he wasn’t angry. “My point is, I am, particularly in social situations like these where it feels like there’s an obligation to smile politely and be friendly.”

“Yes!” Alexander exclaimed. “I hate these parties. I only came because my roommate dragged me here. And honestly, I’m having an awful time. The music’s terrible. This electro stuff? Dubstep? It’s just… I don’t understand it at all. What happened to classical music? Or at least jazz? This kind of music lacks any originality. You just play a few keys into a computer and let the program do the rest of the work!” The man was watching him with that amused smirk back on his face, but he made no move to interrupt him (Alexander wouldn’t have blamed him if he did) or walk away. Alexander took that as an invitation to continue. “And the alcohol. How do people find flavoured vodka nice? Or maybe they don’t, and they just want something strong so that they can get drunk quicker so they have an excuse for anything stupid they do. And then they suffer the morning after. I don’t understand why people would enjoy doing that. I don’t understand why people would ever be enjoying this party!”

All the way through Alexander’s rant, the man was staring at him with one eyebrow raised. His eyes still shone with laughter, but there was something new in his expression, something that Alexander couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Are you done?” the man asked finally.

Alexander could have continued. He could have complained for hours, but he didn’t want to scare off the only other intelligent being in the house. “Yes,” he said.

Before the man could speak again, however, a loud voice cut across the room. “Alexander!”

Alexander sighed, exasperated, as his friend bounded over to them, a tipsy smile on his face and a cup of strong-smelling alcohol in his hand. “Hi, Lafayette,” he said tiredly. He pulled a face at the man, who laughed and rolled his eyes. Alexander liked his laugh. It was deep and hearty, but it still managed to sound light.

Lafayette fixed his eyes on the man at the sound and grinned. “ _Bonsoir, Thomas, ça va_?”

The man – Thomas – nodded, a small, amused smile on his face. “ _Ça va bien, merci beaucoup_. I see you’re enjoying the alcohol?” He shot a look at Alexander, who returned one with a roll of his eyes and a grin.

Lafayette pulled a face. “It is not as good as champagne, but it’ll do.” His French accent shone clearly through the slightly slurred words. “I see that you have met our host tonight, Alexander!” Lafayette exclaimed brightly. “This is Thomas Jefferson; we have Foreign Relations class together. Thomas, this is my roommate, Alexander Hamilton.”

Alexander’s mouth dropped open. This was the host of the party? The man to whom he’d just spent the last ten minutes complaining? “Um…” he said eloquently, feeling the heat prickle up in his cheeks. Why had he decided to open his mouth and complain to a complete stranger? Alexander knew that he had no verbal filter, but he should have been more considerate. Now he had just ruined his chances of a friendship – or perhaps something more? – with someone who seemed to be on the same intellectual level as him.

Thomas was grinning now, but not menacingly. The spark of humour was back in his eyes. Alexander assumed that he was finding the whole ordeal hilarious. Under any other circumstances, that would have angered him, so why was he feeling nothing but embarrassment?

Lafayette looked between the two of them, then back to the crowd of people. “I think I will leave you to it,” he said, a knowing smile on his face. Alexander shot a confused, helpless look at him, but the Frenchman was already disappearing into the group of people jumping up and down to the music like a throbbing heart.

Thomas was still smiling at him. “Shall we take this conversation elsewhere?” he suggested. “I don’t think that either of us want to be in this room any longer.” Alexander nodded, relieved to be able to get away from the swarm of sweating bodies.

Thomas led him out of the living room and into an empty corridor. The house was grand, with panelled walls and hardwood floors that made echoing noises as they walked through the darkness and finally came to a large, heavy door. Thomas turned around and grinned at him excitedly, one hand on the doorknob. “You’re going to love this,” he said before opening it.

Alexander gasped as he was led into the room and the lights were turned on. Thomas had taken him to a huge library, like the one in _Beauty and the Beast_ , with walls packed full of all kinds of books. Stairs and ladders led up to two mezzanine floors that wound their way around the edge of the room, once again laden with books. There was a large table in the centre of the room that was mostly clear, except for a place at the end that was taken up by half a dozen open textbooks and a laptop that Alexander assumed belonged to Thomas. “Wow,” he breathed.

Thomas snorted and kicked the door shut behind him, blocking out the remnants of that awful electronic music. “It’s a lot quieter in here. I come here during parties to work if it all gets a bit overwhelming.”

“Do you host a lot of parties?” Alexander asked.

Thomas nodded. “It’s kind of a social obligation,” he admitted. “I’m rich, and I inherited a big house, and I’m a college student. In order to be somewhat liked among my peers, I have to throw these parties and give people free alcohol and shitty music.” Alexander hummed in reply, more focused on the shelves full of books. He realised that he was still holding the copy of Pride and Prejudice, and set it down on the table with some embarrassment. Thomas picked it up and started to leaf through it absentmindedly. “You remind me of Elizabeth,” he said.

Alexander whipped around to face him, confusion written across his face. “Really?” he asked.

Thomas nodded. “Definitely. You’re not afraid to speak your mind-” (Alexander blushed at that) “-but you’re way more intelligent than Lydia. You seem to like books more than people.”

Alexander stopped himself from saying _I like you more than books_. Seriously, he had just met Thomas. Now was not the time to start getting attached. “Do you associate a lot of people you meet with fictional characters?” he asked.

“I try not to, but sometimes the similarities are striking,” Thomas said, shrugging. “For example, Professor Seabury reminds me of a certain Mr Collins.” Alexander burst out laughing at that. Now that it had been brought to his attention, he couldn’t un-see the resemblance.

Alexander pulled himself onto the table. “So what else do you like to do, apart from reading and comparing people to fictional characters?”

Thomas sat next to him. His height meant that he didn’t have to haul himself up like Alexander had to. “I study Foreign Relations with Lafayette, but I’m going to start taking some PoliSci modules next year. I want to be a politician or ambassador of some kind.”

Alexander sat up. “I take PoliSci!” he exclaimed.

Thomas laughed at Alexander’s excitement. “I also play violin and I dabble in writing.”

“You play violin?”

“I’m not very good,” Thomas said, shrugging.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Alexander said. He looked at Thomas again and saw a musician’s grace; his long limbs and fingers looking as though they came straight out of a character in a romance novel. If Alexander could forget about the dozens of people outside dancing to that shitty music, he could be in one of those novels, in a quiet library with a handsome young man. And maybe he was imagining it, but Thomas seemed to be looking at him in a way that he could recognise from the many stories he had read; with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes, cheeks slightly rosy from blushing. Alexander’s face was probably in the same state.

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the door bursting open. Lafayette and another man tumbled in, landing on top of each other on the floor and giggling drunkenly. Lafayette was the first to notice Alexander and Thomas staring at them in shock and managed to pull himself to his feet, where he swayed until the other man stood up and grabbed his arm to hold him up. “So this is where you two lovebirds have eloped to!” the Frenchman exclaimed loudly, causing both Alexander and Thomas to trip over their words for excuses. “This is Hercules, by the way,” he continued. Alexander wondered how he had managed to continue using English for so long instead of slipping into his native French. “And, yes, that is his real name. I’m not just commenting on his, how you say, hotness?” Hercules lifted up a hand in greeting.

Alexander rolled his eyes and crossed to where his friend was standing. “Okay, I think that’s enough alcohol for tonight,” he said. “Time to get you home.” Lafayette pouted but complied, knowing how stubborn the other immigrant could be.

Thomas walked Alexander and Lafayette to the door and helped Alexander push the Frenchman’s gangly frame into the passenger seat. He caught Alexander’s wrist as he was about to climb into the driving seat. Alexander felt his skin prickle at the contact, as if every nerve was standing up on end. “Alexander, um…” Thomas hesitated, and Alexander could just make out a blush on his face in the semi-darkness. “I know that this is probably too soon, but, uh…” Thomas couldn’t meet his eyes, and although Alexander had an idea of what he wanted to ask, it almost seemed too good to be true.

“Just ask him out already!” Lafayette called from inside the car.

“Um… yeah, would you like to come to dinner with me some time this week?” Thomas asked, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

“Say yes or I’m disowning you!” Lafayette shouted.

Alexander laughed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his chest. “Yes, I would love that.” he said, finding Thomas’ hand and squeezing it. Thomas beamed, making Alexander’s heart leap. He felt like he could stay like this forever, if it weren’t for Lafayette’s constant shouts to “hurry up and kiss so that we can get home and I can go the fuck to sleep”.

Thomas pressed a quick kiss to Alexander’s cheek. “Until then,” he said softly. Alexander shivered and climbed into the car, ignoring his roommate’s suggestive looks as he waved out of the window while they drove off. Thomas was standing on the front step, a hand raised in farewell. In that moment, he reminded Alexander of Jay Gatsby at the end of one of his extravagant parties.

“I take it you enjoyed yourself tonight?” Lafayette said sleepily.

Alexander chuckled. He hadn’t planned on it, but yes, tonight had been better than expected.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr: sunshine-soprano


End file.
